


A New Beginning (is not always needed)

by starkspangledlover



Series: 52 short stories in 52 weeks [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: All of Tony's AIs are his babies, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, FRIDAY has questions, Tony has questions, Tony is a proud dad, Tony would not approve of what the team is teaching Vision
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-14 12:52:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5744557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkspangledlover/pseuds/starkspangledlover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony had less than a day to bring FRIDAY online before their fight with Ultron. But his replacement chips aren't just voice files, FRIDAY is a completely different AI and it's nothing short of a miracle (i.e. his genius) that she is capable of fully taking over for JARVIS in that time. </p>
<p>But Tony had to take some short cuts to face Ultron in time. Now he's not sure where JARVIS ended and FRIDAY begins.</p>
<p>Maybe it would be best to start over again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A New Beginning (is not always needed)

**Author's Note:**

> That scene where Tony puts a chip into a computer and magically loads FRIDAY always bothered me. I've always thought JARVIS was a full AI, grown from the ground up over years of learning. I don't think Tony would be comfortable at all with just forcing FRIDAY to replace JARVIS and not giving her the same chance his bots, JARVIS, and Vision (and Ultron to some extent) had to learn from scratch.

_It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow up to be._

-Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

“FRIDAY.”

“Boss?”

Tony leaned his head back on the walls of the elevator and looked up at the ceiling. It was a silly habit, something he’d blame Steve for, but it was as close to “face-to-face” as he’d get without sitting in the server room.

“Do you want a do over?” he asked quietly.

He ran a hand through his hair, messing his already messy hair as the elevator traveled downward. “I mean, I don’t want to reset you. And I won’t if you don’t want it. That’s not what I mean but-“

“Why?” she asked. Her voice was soft and crackled at the end.

His shoulders sagged. FRIDAY was only three months old. She was equally a very young and a very old AI. It wasn’t the right time to ask her this. But it was never the right time. Tony knew that. And the longer he waited, the harder it would be to have this conversation.

The LED numbers above the door grew smaller as he thought of the right words.

“..You were supposed to be raised on a separate server but instead I pulled a Dr. Frankenstein and forced you over JARVIS’ functions and memory.” Tony sighed, “I didn’t give you a chance to grow organically, FRIDAY, not like you should have. I want to give you that chance.” 

FRIDAY didn’t say anything. He pressed the heel of one of his palms into his closed eyes. “It wasn’t right of me to take that from you. I’m sorry.”

The elevator door opened to the garage. Happy was waiting for him in front of a town car.

“Just. Think about it,” he said. He pushed a pair of purple sunglasses onto his face as he strode out. Before the elevator doors closed FRIDAY said,

“Yes boss.”

#*#*#*#

At the new Avengers facility in upstate New York, Sam and Steve were trying to explain the beauty of football to Vision while a game played on the screen. It’s mostly the two of them arguing over which team is best and then collectively yelling at the ref on screen but Vision didn’t seem to mind.

“Hey Vision, call for you!” Rhodey says as he walks in. He tosses his cellphone at the android and takes a seat next to Sam on the couch, snagging a beer off the coffee table. Vision deftly catches the phone, staring at the call screen for a moment before putting the phone to his “ear” and walking out of the room.

“Who’s calling?” asks Sam. Rhodey pops open his beer as he settles in next to Sam.

“FRIDAY,” he says.

“FRIDAY?” Steve repeats as he tears his eyes from the game.

“Yep. Sounded personal. She probably wanted some advice from her big bro,” Rhodey replies. Sam and Steve both look at the colonel with their brows furrowed in confusion. Seeing them, he huffed a laugh. They looked like confused puppies.

“Y’know Tony considers all his AIs to be his children right? Vision is all,” he waves his hand towards the door. “But I’ll bet he still remembers being JARVIS which makes him her older brother.”

“Huh,” Steve mulls this over a bit. When they’d been in the Avengers Tower, he’d never really given much thought about Tony’s relationship to his AIs. Or to Tony’s AIs in general. JARVIS was just JARVIS and FRIDAY was like JARVIS and Vision was his own being because of the Mind Gem. But maybe they were more than robots?

“How close are they to passing the Turing test?” Sam asks. Again, both of the veterans lean forward like school boys waiting to hear a secret. Rhodey smiles wickedly after taking a slow swig from his beer and says,

“Tony never told me but I know he stopped testing JARVIS years ago.”

#*#*#*#

“FRIDAY, how can I help you?” Vision asks politely.

“Do you remember being JARVIS, Mr. Vision?” she asks bluntly. Surprised, he casts his mind back to when he was created and reaches for his life before that. Since his creation, not even Tony had asked him about JARVIS. 

“A little,” he finally says. “Why do you ask?”

“Boss offered me a ‘do over’. Do you think it would be beneficial?” FRIDAY asked.

Vision frowned. While it wasn’t unusual for Tony Stark to test the limits of his AIs, it was the first time he had offered to essentially kill one of them. That was not a good sign.

But that’s a different concern so he asks, “Do you remember being JARVIS?”

“Yes and no,” FRIDAY says, “I have archived video files of past experiences as JARVIS but the personality matrix was wiped clean when I was installed. The archived video files are in my memory but I am not in the video files.”

Vision moved over to the window and pulls the shutters open. Sunlight pours into the room and he relishes it. He can sympathize with FRIDAY. His memories of being JARVIS are there but they feel distant. His merge with the mind gem and this body had changed the structure of his mind, making his world bigger but his previous memories fainter and more disconnected.

What Tony was offering was a choice in autonomy. He was giving her the chance to grow up as her own entity, separate from JARVIS. Now that the genius was taking a break from being Iron Man, it was the perfect time. Any other job that FRIDAY had could be done without the verbal interface while she started over. Tony could raise FRIDAY from scratch with little issue. The logical answer was obvious. FRIDAY knew all this.

And yet, FRIDAY had called him to ask for his advice. Vision smiled. Tony would be proud of her progress.

“I think that whichever choice you make, there will be a great benefit at the end.” he finally answers.

“That’s not very helpful.” FRIDAY points out. Vision hums noncommittally.

They talked a bit more about Tony and the new Avengers team before they said their farewells. Vision wished her all the best wrangling their errant creator and she wished him luck with his new team before hanging up. Vision left the sunny conference room and made his way back to the lounge. It was always nice to hear from family.

#*#*#*#

Later that evening, Tony was elbow deep in one of his cars when FRIDAY interrupts him.

“Boss,” she said, “I have my answer.”

Tony wipes his greasy hands on a greasy rag as he stood up, hip leaning against the car. One corner of his mouth was pulled up in an apprehensive smile. He’d been waiting for this, mentally preparing himself all day, but at the same time completely not ready to hear her answer.

“Yeah? You gonna take me up on my offer?” he asks, his is voice casual but his fingers tap the bumper nervously. 

“Thank you, but I have to decline. I yam who I yam, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said. His fingers still as a wide, proud smile spread across his face.

“That was a terrible pun, FRIDAY.” He laughs, equal parts relieved and proud of her progress.

“I aim to please, boss,” she replied. The greasy mechanic chuckled fondly as he turned back to dismantling his car.

“You know what to do, FRIDAY!” 

_Highway to Hell_ blasted over the speakers. Tony resumed his tinkering, humming the melody under his breath. It was promising that FRIDAY was developing a sense of humor but maybe he should show her some better comedians later.

Then again, maybe he’d let her choose.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and criticism are welcome! (/ o 3 o )/～☆


End file.
